1.12.2009

UPDATE, June 30, 2010I keep amending this review, and the heck with those that give me consequence from doing it, I am going to tell my loyal Amazon readers the truth, and the rest I could care less about honestly.It's not that I hate this RAM, but it seems to be failing at every opportunity that I give it, and I have given it three (3) opportunities to perform for me in my OEM PC build, and dang, dang if it hasn't failed yet again.That is correct dear readers, don't despair, Wavey Davey is here to tell you the facts, and here we go again. Last month, once again I started getting random crashes and BSOD's (BlueScreenofDeaths) in PC No.2, where this RAM inhabits the DIMM receptacles,and I couldn't explain it so I just watched things closely for a couple days, which led into a couple weeks of adjusting, figuring out what was going on, and you know it wasn't anything to do with my CPU, my TIM placement and its sustainability, it had nothing to do with my CPU, nothing to do with my build or how things were going with my fans, nothing at all...it was this God Danged RAM AGAIN!When I backed things down to about 4Ghz instead of running @ 4210Mhz (4.2Ghz), turned the RAM off and out of the equation pretty much by adjusting the SODIMM Ratio to 2:6 instead of the normal 2:8 Ratio for 1600Mhz RAM like this stuff is supposed to be, well the long and short of it? I was still getting random crashes, BSOD's, and Dang It there could only be one cause, and that is failed RAM once again!Today I got another RMA handled from Corsair company, that is true, I recited all of the litany of things that I had done to try and "fix" my PC to work correctly, and when none of that worked I tried RAM tests, I used Memtest and Windows RAM tests both, and dang if this RAM didn't fail both tests miserably once again! Dang Dang Dang I was pissed about it, too! You have no idea how frustrating it can be to build a perfect little OEM PC, have it performing 100% at its peak of performance @ 4.2Ghz at a very respectable overclocking and at good temps too, just barely cresting 70-degrees Celsius during the hot day, and doing you right down to the 60's at night, well then...you know what I am writing?It is discouraging to do all of that and once again be faced with an RMA with the RAM that you had put your faith into, this being the 3rd Time that this RAM has failed! That is just 3 times too many for my taste, and I don't like it, and I am not going to just sit here and meekly send in my RAM to Corsair once again and not say anything about it!Listen I bought 12GB of G. Skill RAM at about the same time I bought this Corsair RAM last year, back last summer in June/July because they were both on sale, the G. Skill RAM being on sale at another retailer that you all know and love, and this Corsair being on sale here at Amazon.com. And guess which RAM has survived through thick and thin, through build after build, and heat, and hot, and hard times and good times, yessir, the G. Skill RAM has continued to work 100% all of the time, has never given me a single itty bitty bit of a problem. Meanwhile the Corsair RAM has failed 3 times, and guess what has gone into the PC with the failed Corsair RAM while the Corsair RAM gets RMA'd?Right, the G. Skill RAM, that is what goes into the poor little failed PC without any RAM while the Corsair RAM gets RMA'd again, while Corsair gives me yet another batch of this dang DDR3 "XMS3" RAM of theirs, and I once again try to get the PC to function 100% with it installed. The G. Skill RAM to me has no equal, it's the good stuff, while this Corsair RAM has been nothing but problems for me over and over again...go figure!That is what I am writing about tonight dear readers, and my update is simply this: FAILED AGAIN, the Corsair RAM is going back for yet another RMA to Corsair company, and they will replace it again for me, this being the 3rd time it has happened, and I will try once again with the new batch to keep my PC lit and functioning 100%, and Goodness Gracious people, let's hope that this time it works longer than 3 months, 6 months, let's just hope that it works 100% and I don't have to update this review yet again with another failure story!That is my update tonight, and for Corsair's sake, and for my PC's sake, let's hope that the 3rd time is the charm! Let's hope that the Corsair RAM functions like I paid for it to function, and that I don't have to repeat myself again about another failure down the road, that it just works this time, thank you for reading--my faith is like yours: I only have it because Corsair made this RAM with a Lifetime Warranty, and I hate to continue to have to use the Warranty, you know that?Wavey Davey - 6-30-2010UPDATE, Dec 27, 2009One or more of the DIMMs has failed, and they are going to Corsair on an RMA Ticket that was "instantly approved" yesterday, and I mean within 15 minutes of my submitting the trouble ticket, I got back an email with an RMA#...it was very, very fast! I am sorry to have to report this sad fact, but I suspected trouble 2 weeks ago when I started getting incomplete WU's in Folding@home, many in a row...so I tried a LinX 0.6.3 stability test, and couldn't get past 2 cycles, Red ERROR message three times in a row. Hmmm, I thought...try MemTest and see what happens. So that was next, and instantly the SDRAM started throwing error after error, the RAM would not complete a cycle at all...it failed MemTest, test after test. Bummer!Sadly this is the 2nd set of Corsair RAM I have had to RMA, both sets purchased here at Amazon.com. The replacement set on the Dominator RAM (12GB) was stellar, no issues with that...so here's hoping that when Corsair replaces this set that it will also be exceptional RAM, not something that fails in such a short time. After all, I was running this RAM for less than 3 months when it failed, albeit at a stout overclocking of 4210Mhz @ 1.65V VDIMM, 1.3V QPI PLL VCore, 1.3V IOH PLL VCore, nothing really stressful on the RAM, and BAM! Failure of at least one of the DIMMs, so back it all goes.I will report again here after the RMA is completed, and I check out what I get back.-Wavey Davey - 12-27-2009UPDATE - 1/10/2010Corsair RMA Dept sent me some super-nice XMS3 SDRAM in exchange for the 3 x 2GB set that I RMA'd to them on 12/26/2009. All 3 DIMMs have the identical coding on them: "09520481" which matches the coding on the box's part number sticker, so these have been individually matched as a set by Corsair, a very, very good thing! In addition the box has a special splash at the top where it is written, with a big check mark: "Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition"...which the previous set did not have on the box, another good thing from Corsair.I have had them installed since Tuesday Jan 5, and they are working great with my overclocked (4210Mhz 24/7) 2nd rig, which is principally a Folding@Home machine, though I'll use it for work if my No.1 rig is tied up with something important and can't be interrupted. I have the RAM set in BIOS at the identical settings as before--just like the 1st set, and the PC has been running smooth ever since I installed them, no crashes, no problems, just a fine running PC. I don't know how much better than the 1st set these are, but it's apparent that they are more stable and running strong. I'll report back here if anything changes in the long run, but so far so good. Corsair RMA Dept gets a big Thumb's Up for sending me this RAM, all matched and ready to rock straight out of the box!I have been running this Corsair DDR3 SDRAM for almost a 6 weeks in a new PC build I put together in October 2009, and so far so good. The timing is pretty relaxed @ 9-9-9-24 Clocks from the factory people at Corsair. I have it set, for my complete specs, @ 9-9-9-24-74 1T Clocks, @ 1.65V VDIMM in BIOS, with my QPI PLL VCore set @ 1.300V since I am over-volting the RAM somewhat. In addition I am running a 58% overclock on the CPU, up to 4210Mhz from 2.66Ghz OEM Box Stock, which is a sort of "normal overclock" for a good running Core i7 920 CPU like I have in the build... specifically it's a Batch# 3849B202 CPU, made in late April at the Costa Rica Intel CPU factory there! There, now you have all my secrets, hah-hah! Well, just kidding about the secrets, it's just that I have never disclosed this build's inner workings to anyone yet, so it's an Amazon.com 1st Run Production I guess, to be showcasing my Core i7 920 CPU build with this great Corsair SDRAM on board!More of the build, it's got an EVGA BL-132-x758-A1 motherboard, from here also, and it's running an ancient BIOS, I think it's all the way back to May, 2009, yes, it is! Anyway, it's stable for me, so go figure, and I'm not changing it for anyone at this point. The SDRAM is running great though @ that lofty 4210Mhz overclocking, and I am going no further there, so don't ask me about the BIOS settings, because I'm not telling anybody what *those are*! I haven't asked too much of the SDRAM yet, even though it's rated @ 1600Mhz you never know about those things until you push it, and the SDRAM is being pushed to the tune of 1608Mhz presently, a little tiny overclocking, running @ 2:8 to 1 Command Ratio, but so far SO GOOD! Sometimes RAM isn't even as good as its rating, but this stuff peaks well @ 1608Mhz, and has given me zero trouble so far.I haven't had to run any tests on the SDRAM yet, other than the normal stability tests of running LinX 0.6.3 for 10X iterations for starters, then a longer iteration of 20X so I could put the build into the EVGA Stability i7 Club, which is a good thing to do if you have an EVGA motherboard and are a good enough builder to run the rig @ 4Ghz or higher overclocking, as I have demonstrated that the rig is indeed stable there @ 4210Mhz...so into the Club it went, this humble Amazon.com parts pieces build. In fact, the only thing I didn't get for this build from Amazon.com is the video card, and that's a BFG GTX 285 OC 1GB Video Card, which I scored elsewhere...you really don't want to know that source, and Amazon.com would probably censor it anyway.That's the story on the nice Corsair SDRAM that I sourced here at Amazon.com, it's an excellent buy at less than $150 for a 3 x 2GB=6GB matched set...and it works great, honestly it does! I am not putting the build on the David Letterman Show, Tonight, am I? Nope, didn't think so...thus it has some bargain basement SDRAM from here that works a treat, yes it does!Wavey Davey - Dec.1, 2009

1.2.2014

I mistakenly bought the same Corsair RAM XMS-3 (but the 1600mhz CL11)Instead I should have bough these as these have a (CL9 Latency making them noticeably faster.!!)However, I thought because these were 1333mhz (that may make them slower, how wrong I was).This ram can be very easily with a few mouse clicks overclocked to over 1600mhz upto 1750mhz stable.The 9 the smaller number the better as this is the access time to which the CPU accesses the Core RAM,nano small Capacitors.So with the much more expensive 1600mhz RAM at 15 pounds Extra per stick, is poor mans money down the drain,a total of 30 pounds loss for memory that (is inferior to this CL9 1333mhz) 16GB Paired at 8GBx 2 CL9 sticks = 16GBI read in an article,in Custom PC a monthly Mag, mainly suitable for all Geeks and Nerds on 'an overclocking budget'.!Okay, yes, in the end I sold my Corsair XMS-3 CL11 1600mhz, and bought these instead to try, from eBuyer because Amazondo tend to sell out regular, at the just under 50 price point. (so if you see them under 50 Quid per 8GB Stick,than dig in shallow, and purchase; as Amazon UK are definitely cheaper than any other e-tailor for this RAM in 8GB Sticks.I must say if you are new and enthusiastic to the world of 86's or the PC & Windows OS or Dual Boot with Linux OS.Then YES! if you're a Gadget addict, it can happen to anyone, it will not affect your health, but will shrink your Pocket.!Please come back to Amazon UK more often, because I have been a regular weekly/monthly customer ofAmazon UK for well over 10 years. I can only say before it was eBuyer and scan, but I must say Amazon UK Now thatThe Amazon Market-Place have a Bigger and Better variety of components, at most certainly usually cheaper prices, thiswebsite is the one stop shop, for all PC Electronics, Motherboards, SSD's, RAM, Mechanical Hard Drives, LED's & LCDMonitors, 100's of Gaming mouse mats, Wireless Laser & Optical Gaming Mice, Wired USB & Wireless Keyboards.Get involved in the thousand's off Amazon UK online help, support, & Geek Blogs, if you're knowledgeable with the PCThen please climb aboard and help out, we need, more folks like you, if you can give 30 mins Once per week. Fab.!!Now back to this RAM, it scores very highly on the Windows index experience score board, my 16GB, 2x of these 8GBoverclocked, from 1333mhz to nearly 1730mhz with a small Voltage increase on my R.O.G Z87 Motherboard from 1.65vto just over 1.75v something easily maxes is out to a Max score off 7.9That's with Good Old' faithful Win & 64Bit, - (Be nice, to see it under WINDOWS 8, index experience higher scores)Please note I do no advocate using, nor have ever used; any memory boosting apps, which are out there, they simplydo not work, and never ever have, only make the developer money, and you bet he's laughing, their can be no substitutefor a regular Bios update.Get yourself a San-disk, Crucial, Samsung, Integral, or even Kingston USB 3.0 Stick, as for a keep sake, keep alist of all your Bios updates, on it, they are inexpensive, and are the very best tool for an error FREE Bios update .Please do NOT use the new software with some major branded Boards to make it easier for Noobs.! but what can be moreeasier that putting in a memory stick into the back of you're motherboard, to make sure you get the("best chance of an error FREE UPDATE to your Bios").Thanks! for reading my 80 cents worth... David

3.3.2013

The RAM works just fine installed in an MSI H67MA-E35 motherboard with an Intel i3 processor. Before I purchased it I contacted Corsair to confirm that this RAM was compatible as it wasn't on MSI's list of tested compatible modules for this specific motherboard. Corsair promptly replied that it was so I ordered it and it's run without a hiccup from the get go.My problem with Corsair began when I applied for a $10 rebate that was offered through Amazon. Since I've dealt with how most rebate companies operate I am meticulous in keeping records of all documents and never fill in any forms by hand. I even take screenshots of pop-up windows or drop-down menus that contain any info about the rebate.A

8.10.2012

This is RAM memory, so there is not a lot to be said about it. It's one of those things that either works or doesn't. Because of my experience with this I was fully prepared to give only a one star rating, but I've mellowed a little. What happened was this. I was building my first ever PC. I bought two sticks of this memory. Powered up the completed project and was thoroughly enjoying the fact that it all worked first time. I installed Windows 7, and while I was showing off my new creation it blue-screened and re-booted.I assumed this was just teething troubles.It wasn't.The following two weeks were a nightmare with frequent blue-screens, and software crashes.

7.2.2013

[Please read the Update at the end]This 16GB XMS Memory kit (2x8GB memory modules) is very good but the spec is not totally accurate and there should be a disclaimer to this effect. You even see a bold statement "Outrageously fast 1600MHz performance using 16GB of memory" with 1.5V spec shown a few lines below on the same page (unless Amazon corrected this as I have sent them a note pertaining to what I describe here) but this must be qualified.Corsair's own website indicates that the 1600Mhz clock rate is achieved at 1.65V which is quite different from the 1.5V indicated here under Product Specifications. If you, like me, use this memory with Intel new technology processors (the latest i5 and i7 CPUs),

30.9.2013

I've had my PC for over 3 years and recently decided to upgrade the RAM from 8GB to the motherboard's maximum of 16GB. RAM is the only piece of hardware I feel confident enough to mess with. After all, what could be simpler, eh? It just slots in and 'click', right? Err, not quite. I know this might be old news to someone used to fitting hardware, but I'll say it anyway: You MUST make sure the RAM sticks are seated correctly in their slots, AT BOTH ENDS. Even if you do as I did and slot one end in and then rock the other end in until the clip locks it, that doesn't mean it's seated correctly. You still need to check both ends of the stick. In my case the PC just wouldn't boot.

7.2.2013

[Please read the Update at the end]This 16GB XMS Memory kit (2x8GB memory modules) is very good but the spec is not totally accurate and there should be a disclaimer to this effect. You even see a bold statement "Outrageously fast 1600MHz performance using 16GB of memory" with 1.5V spec shown a few lines below on the same page (unless Amazon corrected this as I have sent them a note pertaining to what I describe here) but this must be qualified.Corsair's own website indicates that the 1600Mhz clock rate is achieved at 1.65V which is quite different from the 1.5V indicated here under Product Specifications. If you, like me, use this memory with Intel new technology processors (the latest i5 and i7 CPUs),

7.1.2012

I have to admit to having been rather suspicious about these memory modules. After all, Corsair is a top RAM brand, and isn't DDR3 the fastest RAM? Four GB for less than 20 pounds, and free delivery! I paid four times that two years ago for the identical 4GB already installed in my PC. Perhaps the RAM would be `factory refurbished' returns from other unhappy buyers.Well, MyMemory delivered in four days. The packaging was sealed, new and not dog-eared as I half expected. Whatever happened to anti-static packaging? The two memory modules, made in Taiwan, were each snugly fitted in a plastic shell which could be prised open with fingers alone, no scissors required.

30.9.2012

I have had one of these in my PC for seven months now. I have had no issues whatsoever. The DIMM was easily installed - unlike some sticks I've had in the past, which required a worrying degree of downward force on the motherboard to slot in properly - and I have experienced zero performance or stability issues with it since. The heat-spreader that covers the "guts" of the circuitry gives it a nice quality, streamlined appearance, which isn't particularly important since it's going to be living out of sight inside the case anyway, but it also makes handling the item less fiddly and less potentially damaging versus putting your grubby mitts directly onto the solder and silicon of a bare stick (presumably the plastic also offers some insulation against static charge,

11.12.2011

From the start I would like to point out that despite this products description (as being for core i5 cpu's), that it is completely compatible with other cpu's and motherboards that require DDR3 ram.I purchased this ram having allready owned an identical kit. I wanted to expand my pc's ram from 4gb to 8gb. I have built many pc's and have used corsair ram many times before. I had no doubt or hesitation in using it again. And having installed it a month or so ago, it has run flawlessly since.although my cpu (an AMD Phenom II X2, unlocked and overclocked - 4x cores running @ 3.7ghz) can only run 4x sticks (supposedly) of ram at a time at a reduced speed of 1333mhz (a limitation of my cpu, not the ram),

13.5.2012

Sehr guter Produkt! Ihr muss doch kaufen!I strongly recommend anyone to get this RAM. Ignore those look-at-me Corsair chips with the fins and what have you; they're for kiddies to show off what mom 'n pops got 'em, or just for people who dig that sort of thing.This stuff is fast, sleek, and quality RAM. I have four of these in Dual Channel.. 2GB|2GB|2GB|2GB and they perform beautifully.I know this is probably really obvious to most of you, but make sure (for those who're new to building) that your motherboard supports DDR3 at 1600MHz, although they will run just fine at 1333MHz, which you'll find them defaulted at. If you have unusual third-party CPU heatsinks, make sure you'll have enough room to fit this RAM,

25.2.2011

I currently have an Intel Core i7 rig with 3x2Gb of Patriot Viper 1600MHz memory and Windows 7 64-bit. The exact model of memory is no longer available for a perfect match and this Corsair XMS3 was the closest match with the same 9-9-9-24 timings at 1.65v and up to 1600MHz rated. I don't use the XMP so I will not rate this feature.I placed an order on a Monday afternoon, it was dispatched on Tuesday morning and arrived on Thursday morning direct from Amazon with super saver delivery. That is impressive by any standards! The package was small enough to fit through my letterbox and arrived in perfect condition.I opened my case and installed the RAM into my Gigabyte X58A-UD3R motherboard DIMM slots in 5 minutes and so I now have two sets of triple channel memory or 6x2Gb = 12Gb.

17.11.2010

This memory looked great for capability and tech characteristics for the price. Bought 2GB x 4 for a total of 8GB RAM. About 10 days after installing, I began to have computer crash problems with Microsoft Outlook Professional 2010. Gradually, had computer BSOD with Windows 7 OS too. Spent more than 5 hours on the phone with Microsoft tech support for both softwares until we narrowed the problem to hardware. Downloaded Microsoft's recommendation for free memory module checker (Windows Memory Diagnostic) since memory apparently is traditionally the first in the hardware chain (memory, mobo, cpu) to be the likely problem. 2 of the modules failed. Couldn't believe a 50% failed rate.

28.3.2017

Good for an upgrade or computer build. But, have had to send a couple back with errors. Corsair are very good at replacing them and give a lifetime warranty so you can take your time over testing them.When you have installed them, it's best to run a Microsoft Memory Test (just type 'Memory' into the MS search box and click on the memory test app. When it come up click the top layer of hypertext. Your PC will restart and run the test).If you ever get bad RAM, you will find your PC gives you a lot of BSODs (blue screen of death crashes).The key to diagnosing bad RAM is that these crashes will be for many different reasons (i.e not just IQRL alert.. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL bug check has a value of 0x0000000,

26.6.2011

Purchased 4GB kit (2*2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3-12800) CL9 which are rated at 1.65V, however they work perfectly without any configuration in my AMD 890GX setup which has a DDR3 memory controller normally using 1.5V DIMMs.As my motherboard ran the memory at a default 1333MHz (same as the onboard 1Gb/128MB sideport) I overclocked the DIMMs to run at their rated maximum speed 1600MHz, which can be simply achieved by either:1. Changing the memory ratio from 6.66x to 8x2. Or keeping the 6.66x memory ratio and increasing the HT Link from 200 to 240 MHz (HT Link bus speed becomes ~2400MHz)This 2nd option requires further modifications as it is overclocking the system not just the memory,

Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 PC3-12800 - Reviews

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